Rally against Centre’s move on migrantsCorrespondent TINSUKIA, Sept 25 - Under the aegis of the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), the Tinsukia District Students’ Union (TDSU) organized a public rally at the Chaliha Nagar field here on Thursday in protest against the circular of the Central Government by which all non-Muslim illegal migrants who have come to India from Bangladesh and Pakistan till December 31, 2014 shall be provided Indian citizenship.

The speakers alleged that the Central Government move would greatly affect the very fabric of the Assamese society in general. They said Assam had been burdened by the illegal immigrants from the erstwhile East Pakistan and present Bangladesh, and it has badly affected the original demography of Assam.

For this, the people of Assam had to resort to a long struggle of six years for deportation of illegal immigrants from the neighbouring countries, especially Bangladesh, during the later part of the 1970s and the early 1980s, they said. Ultimately, the historic Assam Accord was signed by which migrants till March 25, 1971 were accepted, while those who came after that date were treated as illegal, irrespective of their cast, creed and religion and were to be accordingly detected and deported, they added.

But the recent circular issued by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government has violated the very core issue of the Assam Accord to which the Central Government was a signatory, they said. “This circular had been issued only to hurt the Assamese society which was already overburdened with migrants,” they all echoed, adding, the very Narendra Modi in who in his pre-election assurances given to the people of Assam said that all the illegal migrants would be deported had taken a complete U-turn after becoming the Prime Minister.

The speakers appealed to the people of Assam to stand united against the dangerous designs of the Central Government against Assam and to be ready for a mass movement to thwart such moves.